Bittersweet Blossoms
by purplebaer
Summary: I suck a summaries, but here goes: During the many years of Sasuke's absence and betrayal, Sakura went through an emotional journey. Sakura changed; she became empty, and even Sasuke's return didn't faze her. Although she tricked everyone else, Sasuke could see right through her and he exposes the one thing she tried so hard to hide. Sakura centric / slight SasuSaku and NaruHina
1. Bittersweet Blossoms

**Bittersweet Blossoms**

By: purplebaer

Note: This is my first story, so I apologize for any bleeding eyes, or any other side effect of bad writing. I don't mind if you give me harsh criticism as long as it's reasonable/fair. I'm more of an artist than a writer, but I've always wanted to try writing stories. Anyways, I hope you like it! If someone on tumblr comes across this oneshot, don't worry, we're the same person, haha.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Kishimoto.

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It was like any other day; it was passing dreadfully slow. She turned the corner for the market place to pick up a few necessities. Mindless chatter was made by the people on the streets. Stories of families.

Friends...

Lovers...

She smiled painfully at the words. These type of people had changed and affected her so much. She loved them. Cared for them. Fought for them and at times, with them. It was only a few years ago when she was so.. innocent. So bright. Free, from all this.. darkness.

She continued to mindlessly shop for groceries and new ninja tools. Until she heard a familiar voice.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!" it called out.

It was Naruto. She could see him from the distance, dodging and bumping into people as he came closer.

He is so bright, wonderful, and full of hopes and dreams. It was no wonder that she eventually fell for him. He was always there for her. So kind. So warm.

But that too, was a long time ago..

She smiled, casting a mask that mirrored the happy sixteen year-old Sakura perfectly. It was funny how horrible she was at lying as a child. Over the years, she practised concealing her emotions. It was difficult, but she manage to find a way to deceive her family and friends.

The two friends talked. She laughed, scolded, and yelled. Just like she used to. In a sense, she is still the same 'Sakura'. But, _she_ is not genuine. _She_ is just an act. A projection of the past.

"Ah, it's getting late. I should go look for Hinata-chan now. I'll talk to you later, Sakura-chan!"

She nodded in response, and waved as he ran off to look for Hinata.

Once he was out of sight, she dropped her act. Her heart clenched, feeling slightly abandoned by her close friend. It was so unexpected, so out of the blue when she realized how much she loved her blond teammate. It was also a strange sensation for her to move on from Sasuke. She never expected that to happen. She was so sure that she loved the dark Uchiha, but her new feelings proved otherwise.

Despite the change in feelings, it was no longer mutual. Like Sakura, Naruto had also moved on. He began to fall for Hinata, and she was always faithful to him. Even though they share the same feelings, they were oblivious to the other person. Sakura didn't have to heart to get between them.. or to confess to him again. It hurt him the first time because it wasn't genuine. And it hurt her too.

She believed she loved him like a lover, though maybe because of how vulnerable she was then. She was left heartbroken and empty when she realized Sasuke would never love her. Sakura needed something to fill the empty void, and out of desperation, she went to Naruto. Her love for him was only a delusion to fill the hole that Sasuke left behind.

She shook her head to rid herself from the thoughts. It's in the past. No need to deal with it now. There's no point of it anymore. Sakura abandoned the ability to love. Or that's what she likes to believe.

To distract herself from anymore thinking, she quickly went into to food market to pick up her groceries. The market was filled with mothers and housewives. It was crowded and loud; the customers and grocers shouting and bargaining. With many people in the shop, it was difficult for Sakura to move around, so she decided to finish this task quickly.

After choosing and purchasing the freshest ingredients, she moved onto her last stop; the weapons shop. She was the only customer, so she was glad to be able to take her time. At the door was a few small stacks of baskets, for the customers' convenience. The shop was set up in rows of shelves, each neatly organized and filled with different weapons and tools for various types of ninjas. The shop would be very good, if it weren't so dark. The only source of light was from the large door opening and from the dim lamps on the wall.

She took a basket and threw in two sets of shuriken, senbon and scrolls, after carefully examining each item for any deformities. She walked over to the stand with the kunais; the last item on her list. She picked up three sets and took out all thirty two for examination. From the corner of her eye, she could tell that the owner was irritated due to her actions. It seems that he took pride in the quality of his merchandise. She ignored him, but decided it was better for her to examine them at home.

As she was repackaging the tools, another person entered the store. Sakura glanced over. What a coincidence. It was Sasuke. Now is not the time to deal with him. It would be too much. Meeting with Naruto was already enough to drain her. It'll bring back all those feelings Sakura tried so hard to suppress.

She shoved the remain kunai into the boxes and headed to the cash. She paid the said amount, and turned to leave. Thankfully, Sasuke didn't get in her way. She continued to the exit, and her heart started to beat quickly. She was nervous. She wonders if he was going to stop her.

He didn't.

Her heart sunk. She beat herself over it. Why would she be feeling this way? _Despicable_. She clenched her fists; nails digging into her palm. _Get your feelings together, Sakura! There's no way he'd ever talk to me. Not that I want to talk to him anyways. I gave up on him. Remember that!_

"Sakura."

That voice. She was so into her thoughts, she didn't realize that he caught up behind her. She flinched.

_Sasuke_.

Her heart clenched once more, and this time, she couldn't put up her facade. She didn't want to speak with him. It would be too strange if she didn't respond. She stood, hesitantly opening her mouth to speak.

".. Hello, Sasuke."

There was only silence between the two. He stood there emotionless behind her. She stood, waiting for a response. Then, there was a shuffle. Sasuke walked closer, and turned to face the pale pink hair girl.

He lips tilted upwards into a small smirk. "What, no acting today?"

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed and she turned to look away. She could feel his stare. It was as if he could see right through her.

"What do you want?" she asked bitterly. "I need to head home soon, Sasuke."

He scowled. "What the hell is up with you lately? Everyone else can be fooled, but you can't fool me."

Sakura closed her eyes, pained. "What do you know about me?" she said, quickly transitioning from pain to anger. Her emotions started to pour out, and she couldn't prevent it from spilling. "I haven't seen you for YEARS, Sasuke! And, and you expect me to welcome you so easily?"

He continued to stare blankly. It fuelled Sakura's anger even more intensely. "You can't expect that, after all that you have done! You tried to destroy our home! You tried to kill Naruto! And you even tried to kill..!" she paused and stared into Sasuke's eyes. She saw a flicker of pain in those pools of black.

She calmed, with a hurt expression. "..You tried to kill me."

She looked away, pained by his blank expression. There were more reasons behind her pain, but she wasn't ready to expose them to Sasuke or anyone else just yet.

There was more silence. What was there to expect though? He barely talked. After a while, Sakura assumed she wouldn't get an answer, she began to walk away. "Whatever, this is pointless. Sorry about the outburst. I'll be going now. Bye, Sasuke."

After a couple of steps, Sasuke spoke.

"What was that?" she asked, turning her head.

There was another moment of silence. _Whatever, this is going nowhere._ But before she could take another step, she heard it loud and clear.

"_I'm sorry."_ He apologized. Sasuke had apologized to Sakura.

She quickly turned to look behind for Sasuke, but it was too late. He had already left.

At this point, her walls have shattered. Tears began to form. She ran home as fast as she could. There was no time to go through the front door. She jumped in through her window. As she landed she threw her bags aside, and went straight for her bed.

She cried all night, wondering why and how things went so wrong. She wished for the simpler days. However, her encounter with Sasuke gave her a small hope. Somewhere, she found relief in Sasuke's apology. Maybe there's still time. Not for love, but for Sakura to find herself once more.

There was hope, but it takes a little more than just that. She had to work for it, and that she knew. There is hope. There's a chance. Sakura's heading for spring and is slowly blooming once again.

For once, after so many years, Sakura slept in peace.


	2. One Vanilla Shot

**One Vanilla Shot**

By: purplebaer

AN: Thank you to my lovely reviewers! I'm glad that so many of you liked my one shot. So as thanks I decided to write a follow up. I'm not sure if I want to turn it into a full out fic, but that itself has a low chance of happening. Anyways, thanks for reading! I hope you like it~ (note that I didn't have a beta reader for this, so I apologize for the overlooked grammar mistakes!)

Disclaimer: None of the characters belong to me. I'm just borrowing them for my little non-profit fantasies.

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_italics_ – thoughts

_**italics bold**_– Inner Sakura

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**Chapter Two: Vanilla Shot**

The sun was rising, and Sakura was sleeping soundly, until there was a soft knock on the door. She stirred at the sound.

"Sakura?" a voice called out, along with soft knocks on the door. "Sakura dear, are you awake?"

Sakura grumbled, annoyed that she was woken up. "Yes, I'm am mother."

The door creaked open, and a woman with light brown hair poked out from the crack. "Breakfast is ready. Hurry up and get washed up for your meal."

"Okay, now get out. I was still sleeping." Sakura said with irritation, as she turned her head away from her mother.

"Don't you use that tone with me young lady!" Angry at her daughter's behaviour, her mother retaliated. "I don't know what was wrong with you last night, but you could've at least brought the groceries downstairs into the kitchen! You're lucky I found them before they spoiled."

"Okay, okay! I get it! Just get out!"

"So ungrateful" muttered her mother. "You better be downstairs in 10 minutes, or else."

With that, the fight temporarily ended. Sakura groaned in annoyance and flopped face down onto her pillow. _Just great. Just when I thought I could just relax after that emotional breakdown, I have to deal with this._

As the thought of yesterday, Sakura's anger simmered down, and is now feeling down casted. _Oh, right Sasuke.._ Not wanting to think of it anymore, she sighed and went to follow her mother's orders.

Once she entered her washroom, the first thing she saw was her swollen eyes. Sighing, she splashed her face with cold water and brushed her teeth.

After taking a quick shower and changing into clean clothing, Sakura went to the kitchen. Her mother was placing fresh bowls of rice on the table, and her father was reading the paper. "Good morning father…. Mother."

The man Sakura called father smiled warmly. He was the one who gave Sakura her bright pink hair. Although his hair is now grey, you can still see a tint of pink in his strange cherry blossom shaped hair style. "Ah, good morning Sakura! I hope you slept well."

"I did," she muttered. "Until mother woke me up."

With good ears, Sakura's mom caught her words. "Well excuuuuuuuuse me."

Her father chuckled at their banter and waved a hand to lighten the mood. "Okay, okay. Sakura, Mebuki-dear, calm down and let's not start the day with such a negative mood. It'll just ruin the rest of your day."

In silent agreement, the women sat down and began to eat. Doing as her father said, Sakura muttered an apology and her mother grunted in response. Despite the argument, it didn't take long before they all began to laugh at their child-like behaviour and return to being a happy family.

After a few other conversations, Mebuki changed the topic. "I'm glad that you're being yourself again."

Sakura looked over to her mom in surprise. "What do you mean..?"

Sakura's dad coughed. "You didn't think we wouldn't notice, would you?"

"Your eyes looked so empty, and you were.. just different. Not our regular cherry blossom."

Sakura looked down, ashamed at herself and was a bit embarrassed that she couldn't completely fool her parents. "I don't know what you're talking about, but can we do this later? I have to get going."

Her parents looked back from each other and their only daughter.

She continued as she got up to leave the table. "I have to go train and do some errands at the hospital."

After a pause, her mother let her go. "Alright Sakura.. Be safe, and try to come home earlier, alright?"

Sakura smiled reassuringly. "I'll try to. I'll see you later mom, dad." With that, Sakura was out of her home and she ran towards to an empty field.

The pinkette ran towards the far end of the village, where it was usually deserted. She hoped she could clear her mind from the emotional turmoil. There she trained for hours, until she was so exhausted, she collapsed on top a patch of grass and daisies. _That was a good workout. I feel so refreshed and relaxed. I wish I could stay like this forever. _

_**Won't be happening. Someone's here**_**.**

Right on Inner Sakura's cue, someone appeared in front of her. _Great, there goes my good mood_.

"I thought last night was enough to keep you away… Sasuke."

As usual, there goes his "Hn."

Unlike the usual talkative Sakura, she stayed silent. She was too tired to respond anyways, and too worn-out to even hide her surprise as Sasuke sat down next to her. What got her next, was that he was the one that started the conversation; if you could even consider that 'starting a conversation'.

To Sasuke's surprise, Sakura laughed. He looked down beside him to see her chuckling. "What?" he asked, annoyed to find her laughing at him.

"Sorry," she said between her laughter, "You should seriously get some pointers from someone about your anti-social problems. Maybe you should go to Sai."

He scoffed and looked away in annoyance but, he was glad that she's in a better mood.

They continued to sit (in Sakura's case, lay) in silence. They didn't talk, but they understood. It's better to start off slow. Sakura knew she couldn't continue being so 'soulless'. If she did, she'd eventually snap, like the night before. Sasuke knew he couldn't continue avoiding his other teammate. She was always there to support him, and now it's his turn to support her. _But she won't start without a push._ He frowned at his thought. It was right, and it's pretty much telling him that he has to be the one to give her that push. It's not his area of expertise, but he'll try. _For Sakura's sake._

He coughed, awkwardly grabbing the pink girl's attention. "Tell me about your parents."

Sakura stared at the boy next to her, wondering about the sudden interest. Shoving her suspicions down, she decided he was only curious. After all, he never tried to get to know her. Until now.

She smiled at his attempt, and went along with him. "Well, okay.. Let's start off with my father. He's kind, warm and loves to joke around. Though at times, he can be a little... intense. What I mean is that he enjoys puns a little too much."

Sakura chuckled at the thought of her father in one of his 'intense' moments but as seeing no reaction from her listener, she took the silence as a sign to continue and kept talking. "He's the one who gave me my pink hair."

The pinkette chuckled at Sasuke's expression as he imagined a grown adult man with bright pink hair. "Well, he had more of an intense red, rather than pink. You can't really tell now, since it's fading into grey."

"What about your mother?"

Frowning, Sakura said "Well, she's always trying out new styles. She's caring, independent and the annoying one. Maybe it's because she's quite a serious person. Father usually tires her out with his silly antics. Her past time is probably picking fights with me while ordering me around."

Sasuke frowned at her description of her mother, but was quickly washed away by the next few things Sakura said.

"Even though she does all these things to upset me, I love her. Like I said, she's caring and I'm glad to have her as my mother. Without her, the house would be chaotic, and I wouldn't have become who I am today."

Sasuke continued to look at her.

Sakura turned to smile. "Despite what happened the last time I talked to you about my parents, I still feel the same way, but I'm much more grateful to them now. If you didn't tell me I was annoying and stupid then, I wouldn't have changed for the better. Thanks for that, Sasuke. Thank you for being blunt."

The teenaged boy sat there, staring at Sakura. He wasn't sure if she was complimenting him, or insulting him. But that was the smile he was looking for. Not quite the genuine one just yet, but it's getting there. He felt warmth spreading in his chest, and realized he was happy. Happy for her.

He gave her a smirk, and simply gave her another "Hn."

And just with that, things were going for the better, and Sakura's smile grew a little wider.

THE END.


End file.
